High School Sports » Nashville Christian Schoolhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/high-school-sports
The TennesseanWed, 19 Mar 2014 00:26:17 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6Nashville Christian to forfeit football winhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/high-school-sports/2013/09/10/nashville-christian-to-forfeit-football-win/
http://blogs.tennessean.com/high-school-sports/2013/09/10/nashville-christian-to-forfeit-football-win/#commentsTue, 10 Sep 2013 14:50:50 +0000Maurice Pattonhttp://blogs.tennessean.com/high-school-sports/?p=5288Nashville Christian School will forfeit its season-opening 55-26 victory over Harpeth after finding that one of its players was academically ineligible for varsity competition.

The player was found to have completed only 4.5 credits during the 2012-13 school year, leaving him a half-credit short of the five required by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.

“He had to take some summer school, and those grades weren’t available by the first day of school,” Nashville Christian coach Jeff Brothers said regarding the unnamed player. “We later found out that one of his classes he only received a half-credit for, which made him academically ineligible. We found it within our own building and realized it was a clerical thing.

“Nobody would have known, but we’re not going to operate like that. We’ve got to forfeit the game. We’ve talked to the players about it and everybody understands it was a mistake, not an intentional thing. It’s a live-and-learn lesson for us. We’ve got to make sure the credits are right and stay on top of things.”

The player, a sophomore, did not participate in either of Nashville Christian’s most recent wins – a 28-11 victory at Ezell-Harding on Aug. 30, or a 48-8 victory over District 10-A rival Houston County last week. He will not be eligible for varsity competition in any sport for the remainder of this semester.

In addition to forfeiting the win – a change from previous years, when the outcome would have been vacated by Nashville Christian and remain a loss for Harpeth, now 3-0 – NCS will also be subject to a $50 fine. No further action will taken on the matter, according to TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress.

“Most of our ineligible athletes, when they’re inadvertent and they’re found, probably about 98 percent of them are self-reported,” Childress said. “They follow the correct procedure, they call us and let us know, and we follow the guidelines set in the by-laws – forfeit the game, pay the fine and move on. Our schools make the right decisions on those.”

NCS, ranked eighth in this week’s Associated Press Class 1A statewide poll, is now 2-1 with the forfeit. The Eagles play visiting Davidson Academy this week.

“We’re 2-1, and we move on,” Brothers said. “It doesn’t change a thing for us. We’re still playing for the same championship we were playing for before. It’s not tragic. It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t catch it.”

A shortstop/outfielder, Hulan earned MVP honors each of her four years at NCS and made all-district every year. This summer, she also played with the 18-U Tennessee Attack, hitting .340 and helping her team to an ASA state championship.

“Tori gives us a player that can play several positions and will add some speed to our team,” Trevecca Coach Ben Tyree said. “We’re excited to have Tori join our team in a few weeks.”

Davidson Academy senior Justin Williams is expected to be available for the Aug. 20 season opener against Cascade. Williams, who underwent season-ending surgery on his right knee last September, recently injured his left knee.

Davidson Academy running back Justin Williams, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last September, is expected to be ready for his team’s season opener despite minor concerns with his other knee.

“It looks like he’s got some cartilage issues,” first-year Bears Coach Bill Alexander said. “But it’s not a tear. The worst-case scenario would be he’d have it ’scoped and miss a couple of weeks, but we think he’s going to be good for Week 0.”

Williams, who rushed for 841 yards and 11 touchdowns before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Davidson’s fourth game of his junior season, had been medically cleared from that injury and ensuing surgery and ran track this spring.

He initially experienced discomfort in his left knee during a workout last Tuesday but got “eight or nine carries” in Friday’s scrimmage at Franklin Road Academy before the coaching staff removed him.

“He looked really good,” Alexander said. “He’s just got a little pain in it, and it probably scared him a little with what he went through last year.”

Williams, who has 5,049 career rushing yards, will likely miss Friday’s scrimmage against Nashville Christian but could possibly return in time for an Aug. 10 scrimmage against DeKalb County.

“We’d like to get him some work before Week 0,” Alexander said. “But if we have to hold him till then for him to be healthy, we’ll do that.”